About the Speaker:

The Honorable Gezahgen Kebede, Honorary Consul of Ethiopia in Houston.

The Honorable Gezahgen Kebede, an international business development consultant and diplomat. He is a founder and Chief Executive Officer of WAGA Enterprises, LLC. Texas based business consulting company. He also served as a consultant and executive Vice President of African Affairs at the Tagos Group from 2010 – 2012, President of the International Trade Center since 2008, Founder and President of the Texas Africa Business Summit and Founder and President of the Ethio-American Trade and Investment Council (EATIC) since 1993. Mr. Kebede is an expert in global and corporate strategy, transactions covering principal investing, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, privatizations, joint ventures, structured finance, corporate restructuring, and debt, equity and hybrid issuance. He has also advised governance and public sector development senior executives and CEOs of more than 40 multinational corporations spanning over 20 US Africa companies.

Traveling to more than 25 African nations, Mr. Kebede is a tireless advocate of US-Africa trade and investment, building capacity and forging partnerships in the public and private sector. During his career he has consulted with over 55 US companies who do business in Sub-Saharan Africa. He has organized and implemented over 20 successful Trade and Investment Missions to Africa. One of his main goals is to help Africa become the prime beneficiary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which was instituted to develop meaningful employment in emerging African markets and bring self-sufficiency to Sub – Saharan African countries. During his career he has coordinated over 100 projects with capital investments of over $150 million in Africa. He regularly consults on investment opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa. In February 2010 he spearheaded the creation of the Texas Africa Business Summit where twelve African Ambassadors and over 600 businesses participated in the successful business summit on Texas Africa trade and investment potential opportunities.

The Hon. Gezahgen Kebede was instrumental in bringing the Lucy exhibit to the United States, a project he worked on for 6 years. Lucy is the celebrated skeletal remains of a female hominid that lived 3.2 million years ago. the Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia exhibitions touring the United States and has changed the perception of Ethiopia as a place of famine and suffering. The star attraction of this exhibit will be Lucy, the remains of an early hominid dating back 3.2 million years, is thought to be one of mankind’s earliest ancestors. The exhibition Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia promises to be one of immense educational interest to children, adults, educators and scholars locally, nationally and internationally. Hon. Kebede holds leadership positions in numerous professional and industry organizations including the International Trade Center, Mayor of Houston, International Communities Board Member, Board of Manger Africap, LLC, Executive Board member of Trybus Bridgetex Ethiopia PLC. He is a member of the African Chamber of Commerce, Greater Houston Partnership, Corporate Council on Africa, American Institute of Banking.